In a ballroom full of people milling, hovering, waiting to speak to her, Governor General Michaëlle Jean is a pro.

A majority of Canadians believe Michaëlle Jean, shown March 10, 2010 while visiting orphans from earthquake-devastated Haiti, has done Canada proud in her role as governor general.

By:Tonda MacCharlesOttawa Bureau, Published on Sat Apr 03 2010

OTTAWA–In a ballroom full of people milling, hovering, waiting to speak to her, Governor General Michaëlle Jean is a pro.

She shakes hands warmly, beams her megawatt smile, her eyes sparkling, as she answers the same questions, over and over.

It is shortly after she popped a piece of raw seal heart into her mouth on a visit to Canada's Arctic last May.

Nearly everyone in the roomful of journalists attending the Michener Awards wants to know, what was it like? How did it taste? Was her controversial gesture planned, or spontaneous? Any regrets in the ensuing uproar?

Each and every time she tells the story, it seems fresh, as if she were thinking her way through it anew. She gestures how it was offered, how she accepted, how she sniffed her fingertips afterward, like the Inuit elder. She never misses a beat.

It's a performance skill perfected by public speakers, politicians and television broadcasters – as Jean once was.

Much of the vice-regal job is performance.

But Jean, the Haitian-born, Quebec-raised Radio-Canada broadcaster, brought more to the post than the ability to glad-hand her way across a room. At least, that's the way most Canadians see it.

She undertook an agenda to promote Canada's youth, the arts, the North, and – as a daughter of an abused woman – to speak out against violence against women.

She proudly embraced the role of commander-in-chief of the Canadian Forces, lavishing medals on members, attending funerals, ditching a dress coat and stilettos for military dress and medals at last year's Remembrance Day ceremony in the presence of Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

Jean made Canadians proud when she welcomed newly inaugurated U.S. President Barack Obama on his first international visit. She recalled his words when the two commanders-in-chief of African descent met at the airport: "Let us rejoice," Obama said, she told the CBC last year. "We connected instantly."

She has embarked on visits around the globe to Haiti, to Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Czech Republic, Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica, Brazil, Hungary, Ukraine, Norway, Algeria, Mali, Ghana, South Africa and Morocco. This week, she attended the Haitian donors conference at the United Nations as an observer.

Since being appointed by then-prime minister Paul Martin in 2005, her duties have included being the constitutional arbiter of three minority governments – Martin's short-lived Liberal regime, and two subsequent Conservative administrations led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

She kept Harper dangling for a couple of hours in December 2008 before acceding to his request to prorogue a Parliament that had lost confidence in him rather than granting his rivals a shot at governing through a coalition.

It was a turning point for Harper, who, sources say, thought his request should have been "a routine matter."

Jean told the CBC interviewer last summer "it wasn't an easy decision. The Prime Minister came with his advice, I consulted also" with constitutional experts. She "could have said no," she added.

"My main focus was what would be the best decision in the best interests of the country ... and I have no regrets."

No matter what Harper thinks, in the eyes of most Canadians, Jean has performed with grace.

An Angus Reid poll conducted for the Star shows that 57 per cent of Canadians surveyed approve of the way she has handled her duties, while just 26 per cent disapprove.

That's the kind of approval numbers Harper – or any of his political opponents – can only dream of.

Still, Harper has decided not to extend Jean's term and is actively seeking her replacement, the Star has learned.

Harper may welcome the poll's finding that Canadians are split on whether Jean's term should be extended for an additional two years, with 43 per cent in favour and 40 per cent opposed.

The same poll found that 50 per cent of those surveyed would approve of Rick Hansen in the post.

But Hansen, who has turned down the job, is intent on raising funds for spinal cord injury research – his life's work since he embarked on the worldwide Man in Motion tour 25 years ago.

All of which leaves Harper searching for someone as popular as either Jean or Hansen, who would also be committed to an often thankless – and in the eyes of this Prime Minister – largely ceremonial role.

Outwardly, Harper and Jean appear to get along. Some who have observed them together describe the relationship as "warm."

"The dynamic is the normal dynamic that has always been observed between a prime minister and a governor general. Respectful," says one observer.

The significant marker of Jean's tenure is that she has held office during minority governments, which prompts one source to say: "It's a good relationship with its challenges."

The relationship has evolved over time. One Conservative says Harper was not inclined to like "where she came from, i.e., who appointed her." But the Prime Minister is also said to have found her charming.

Still, irritants have arisen. Some cite "the way she does the job," suggesting she focuses too much on her own projects, the latest all-consuming one being aid to Haiti in the earthquake's aftermath.

Other Conservatives like Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams are impressed by Jean's passion on Haiti. Williams offered a $1 million donation from his province, moved by her anguish.

So just what is Stephen Harper looking for in a governor general?

"The Prime Minister believes it should be an end-of-career posting," said one source, so that a governor general would not go on to an "awkward post vice-regal career."

Look at the appointments to nine of the 10 lieutenant-governor positions Harper has filled across the country, the source suggests. The appointments have been largely senior public servants at the end of their careers, some with experience as legislative clerks or as assistant deputy ministers, familiar with how government works.

"Except for John Crosbie, they have not been political people," the source said.

The source added that while the decision-making process has not advanced very far, John de Chastelain, twice a chief of defence staff in the past, and a former ambassador to the United States, is "a strong default" candidate. Inuit leader Mary Simon appears not to be in consideration, despite the rumour mill.

"One thing is for sure, it definitely won't be a CBC broadcaster," the source says, referring not only to Jean but her predecessor Adrienne Clarkson.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.